


One Step Over The Line

by GaHoolianGirl



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: (well a single punch), Apologies, Bonding, Gen, If you want it to be it wasn't my intent but idc what you do, Pre-Slash, Punching, Team Bonding, This is probably somewhere mid-season one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-19
Updated: 2016-12-19
Packaged: 2018-09-09 20:29:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8910892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GaHoolianGirl/pseuds/GaHoolianGirl
Summary: In one of their regular arguments, Keith happens to press a button of Lance's that puts him in some serious hot water: Lance's family.(Or Keith gets punched, and then they make up)





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is probably wishy-washy because I'm not good at serious conflict, but I tried my best. This has not set place in the timeline besides before the finale of the first season.

“Keith, I think you may have pushed a few of Lance’s buttons,” Pidge said, watching Lance storm out of the room. Keith held his hand to the nasty mark Lance’s punch left on his cheek.

“What clued you off?” he said in a huff. He knew he and Lance tended to be on the side of vitriolic, but he really hadn’t expected a fist to the face. They seemed to be past that... what he said really must have been a step too far.

Shiro came over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder, “What exactly did you say to him? Most of us didn’t hear the majority of the fight.”

“Well, I...” Keith began, already regretting everything he’d said, “It started out kind of friendly, like we were hassling each other, but something snapped halfway through and we were back to how we used to be. To the stuff about me being a hothead, and him being a bad pilot. So I sort of, said something about his family?”

Hunk stirred.

“I think it was ‘Why would your parents put you through the academy just to goof off and be a crappy pilot?’ Look, I know it was uncall-”

“It was!” Hunk spoke. His voice didn’t usually rise in anger, but his expression was the closest any of them had ever seen him to livid, “Lance might be hard to deal with, but if he has any redeeming quality, it’s how much he loves his family. He’d talk about his sisters all the time, and how he missed them every day. It was really hard for them to have him go so far away, but it was his dream to be a pilot, so they did their best. He’s always felt really guilty about it.”

 _Oh crap._ Keith’s heart fell into his stomach. He might not exactly be a “people person” but he knew how it felt to have something so close to his heart be insulted. He had feelings, dammit.

Hunk’s eyes narrowed at him and he crossed his arms (reminiscent of a mother glaring at her son), “You are gonna apologize, right?”

“Yeah, I am,” There was none of the usual reluctance in Keith’s voice, his eyes following the path Lance used to leave. He looked around the room, getting a nod from everyone. He kicked the ground, “How do you apologize for something like that?”

* * *

 “Hey, Lance,” he said outside his door, knocking softly. He got no response, so he knocked a little harder, “Lance! Look, I took it a step too far. I, uhm, really regret what I said and...”

Lance’s muffled voice came from the other side of the door, “You’re just saying what Hunk and Shiro told you to, aren’t you?”

Keith winced, caught red handed, “Yeah, I am. But I _am_ sorry, and I _do_ want to talk. So let me in?” He spoke softer, “Please?”

There was a moment of silence before the door slid open. Keith slipped in before it was finished and didn’t speak until it was closed.

“I’m sorry. I said some stuff about things I didn’t have any right to.”

“You got that right” Lance said, pointedly not looking at Keith. His hands were clasped together and the shadows of the dark room were striking on his hunched form.

Keith tugged at his collar, “Talking about your family was a low blow. I guess it’s not something I really _get,_ so I wasn’t thinking about how it’d hurt you.”

Lance looked up now, slightly startled at Keith’s sincerity, “Sorry for punching you. That was maybe not the best way to handle it."

The dull sting on Keith’s cheek agreed, but he didn’t comment on it. There was a moment of tense silence between them. Of any of the paladins, their communication always needed the most work and it really showed. Keith decided to offer an olive branch.

“You could tell me about your family. If you want. Or something.”

Another beat of stillness.

“Yeah, okay. But you can’t laugh at anything I say.”

“I wont-”

“I know it may be hard since I _am_ our resident master of humor, but try your best.”

Keith would have scowled at him if he wasn’t too busy smiling. Irritating Lance was the right Lance.

* * *

Nearly half an hour later, Shiro happened to be passing by Lance’s door when he heard a rare and curious sound: Keith’s laughter. He smiled with a fond shake of his head. Camaraderie was sometimes hard won, but it almost always ended up stronger after the hard times passed. He walked away, storing away material to tease the both of them with later.•

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't go into too much detail with Lance's family because tbh I don't have much of an idea for them. This whole fic was sort of spur of the moment writing.


End file.
